Otto Juan Reich is President of Otto Reich Associates, LLC, of Washington, DC, a consulting firm which provides international government relations, trade and investment advice to US and multinational clients. He has spent most of his life in foreign affairs, primarily related to Latin America and the Caribbean, including private enterprise, government, and the U.S. military.

In 2001, President George W. Bush selected Ambassador Reich to be the Assistant Secretary of State for Western Hemisphere Affairs, reporting to Secretary of State Colin Powell, where he served until 2002. He then became President Bush’s Special Envoy for Western Hemisphere Initiatives, reporting to Dr. Condoleezza Rice in the National Security Council. He left government service in June 2004.

From 1989 to 2001, Ambassador Reich was a private consultant, advising clients on international government relations, market access and strategic planning, first as a partner in the Brock Group and later as President of his own consulting firm. In 1991 and 1992, as a private citizen and at the request of President George H. W. Bush, Ambassador Reich served as Alternate U.S. Representative to the UN Human Rights Commission in Geneva.

In the 1980’s, Reich received three appointments from President Ronald Reagan: From 1986 to 1989 he served as U.S. Ambassador to Venezuela, for which he was awarded the highest commendations of both the State Department and the Republic of Venezuela. As Special Advisor to the Secretary of State from 1983 to 1986, he directed the Office of Public Diplomacy for Latin America and the Caribbean, which received the Department’s Meritorious Honor Award. From 1981 to 1983, he was Assistant Administrator of the U.S. Agency for International Development (USAID) in charge of U.S. economic assistance to Latin America and the Caribbean.

His prior experience includes service as Washington Director of the Council of the Americas; Community Development Coordinator for the City of Miami; International Representative of the State of Florida Department of Commerce; and staff assistant in the U.S. House of Representatives.

Ambassador Reich received a Bachelor’s Degree in International Studies from the University of North Carolina (1966) and a Master¹s Degree in Latin American Studies from Georgetown University (1973). His military service (1966 - 1969) included duty as a lieutenant in the U.S. Army’s 3rd Civil Affairs Group (Airborne), Panama Canal Zone.

From 1998 to 2001, Reich was co-host of CNN International’s “Choque de Opiniones,” a Spanish-language version of CNN’s “Crossfire.” He appears regularly on US and Latin American media.

“You understand the importance of fostering democracy and economic development among our closest neighbors, those in our own hemisphere.

Although you know the problems involved from first-hand experience, you also know that the challenges we face can be met if the American people are given a full understanding of the true situation.”